by: Patrick A. Randolph, Jr.
Professor of Law
UMKC School of Law
randolphp@umkc.edu

CONDOMINIUMS; RIGHTS OF UNIT OWNERS; AMENDMENTS OF BYLAWS; PARKING
SPACES: A condominium association may be authorized by its by-laws to
allocate parking spaces which are common areas under the Maryland
Condominium Act, Md. Code Ann. § 11-101 et seq. Alpert v. Le'Lisa
Condominium, 667 A.2d 947 (Md. Ct. Sp. App. 1995). The owners of a
condominium unit challenged the authority of the condominium Council
to assign individual parking spaces for the exclusive use of
individual unit owners through a by-law amendment adopted after they
had acquired their unit. There were sufficient parking spaces
available for all unit owners, but only a limited number were covered
spaces. Under a custom of the owners, parking spaces traditionally
had been assigned on the basis of length of ownership. A new owner
was required to park in the uncovered area. The owner-plaintiffs
thought that they would be obtaining a covered parking space when they
purchased because their sellers had enjoyed that space. They were
notified of the parking allocation system only after their purchase
and refused to abide by it. The Council amended the by-laws to
incorporate the allocation custom.

The owner-plaintiffs argued that the Council could not designate
specific parking spaces without amending the Declaration of
Condominium, as to do so would infringe on each owner's common right
of access and possession of the common elements. The court, in a case
of first impression, held that the parking assignment policy was a
regulation of the use of a common element, not the taking of a portion
of each unit owner's interest in common areas. Therefore, a by-law
amendment was appropriate to institute the parking system and would be
binding on all owners.

The court reviewed a number of cases from other jurisdictions
discussing whether a by-law amendment altered the percentage interest
of owners in the common elements. It reasoned that restricting the
use of parking spaces by assigning them to unit owners was "related to
promoting the health, happiness and piece of mind of the unit owners"
and not a permanent grant of exclusive use of part of the common
elements to any particular owner.

Items in the Daily Development section generally are extracted from
the Quarterly Report on Developments in Real Estate Law, published by
the ABA Section on Real Property, Probate & Trust Law. Subscriptions
to the Quarterly Report are available to Section members only. The
cost is nominal. For the last five years, these Reports annually
have been collated, updated, indexed and bound into the Annual Survey
of Developments in Real Estate Law, volumes 1-5, published by the ABA
Press. The Annual Survey volumes are available for sale to the
public. For the Report or the Survey, contact Laprica Mims at the
ABA. (312) 988 6233.

Items reported here and in the ABA publications are for general
information purposes only and should not be relied upon in the course
of representation or in the forming of decisions in legal matters.
Accuracy of data and opinions expressed are the sole responsibility of
the DIRT editor and are in no sense the publication of the ABA.